CARSON CITY -- Judges running for re-election can't begin fund-raising until after the filing period in early January and they have an opponent, the Nevada Supreme Court has decided.

But they can accept campaign contributions from lawyers who have or will argue cases before them, according to judicial rule changes the Court announced yesterday.

The fund-raising changes were in response to recent legislative alterations to the electoral schedule, the announcement stated. Judges are now forbidden from soliciting campaign contributions until they are certain they have an opponent.

The Supreme Court changed the rule because judicial candidates can no longer file by the mid-May deadline in even-numbered years. That means uncontested judges no longer have to raise campaign cash in case an opponent files late.

But once they know they have a contest, Nevada's judges are given plenty of leeway on campaign fundraising. "[J]udicial candidates may accept campaign contributions from attorneys who appear before the court or from parties with matters pending before the court," the announcement also stated.

"We spent much time analyzing First Amendment issues in light of recent decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court on judicial campaign speech," Justice Mark Gibbons stated in the release.

Nevada judges with opponents in 2008 will now have from the end of the filing period in mid-January until the primary vote on Aug. 12 and later the general election on Nov. 4. Sixty percent of the states' judges face re-election next year, AP reports.